Arias, Fábrega & Fábrega acted as special Panamanian counsel to DVB Bank SE in the granting of second mortgages on the Panamanian flag vessels UP Esmeralda and UP Safira for the purpose of securing the obligations of UP Offshore Apoio Maritimo Ltd. and others as obligors under a standby letter of credit facility agreement dated as of October 30, 2009 with DVB Bank SE and other banks for the issuance of a standby letter of credit in an amount of up to US$21 million. 

UP Offshore Apoio Maritimo Ltd.is an affiliate of the Ultrapetrol group, one of the largest operators of barges in the navigable rivers of Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. 

The purpose of the standby letter of credit facility is to secure the obligations of UP Offshore Apoio Maritimo Ltd. under a loan agreement granted by Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Economico e Social - BNDES, a Brazilian banking institution, to finance the acquisition of the UP RUBI, a platform supply vessel registered in Brazil and employed in the offshore oil production sector in Brazil. 

The UP Esmeralda and UP Safira are employed in the offshore supply business of the group, in charge of providing critical logistical and transportation services for offshore petroleum exploration and production companies, primarily in the coastal waters of Brazil.